


The Tundra

by crypticKC



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Adoptive Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I am so weak willed this is such a fic that no one but me wants, Kinda, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Selectively Mute Character, Selectively Mute Tommyinnit (Video Blogging RPF), So not canon compliant, Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings, TommyInnit Angst (Video Blogging RPF), techno said no sbi family dynamics i say fuck off
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:08:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28537836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crypticKC/pseuds/crypticKC
Summary: Tommy has been living with Phil and Technoblade, and though he's trying to maintain his composure, it becomes increasingly obvious he's not the same kid as he used to be.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 129
Kudos: 1388





	1. Broken Shells

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheManOfManyFandoms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheManOfManyFandoms/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a completely selfish fic for me lol because I am a sucker for Phil and Techno helping Tommy with his trauma, and I was hecka inspired by one fic in particular... >:]
> 
> Anyway, Techno's house is different here because I say so, Tommy and Phil have their own rooms, and Techno keeps his animals in a separate building.

They step outside, and Tommy immediately curls inward against the cold. Techno reckons the kid's regretting not bundling up more, but meh, hypothermia isn't that fast, and Techno reasons feeding the animals shouldn't take too long. Tommy is too prideful to admit to being cold anyway, especially after he refused an extra jacket earlier. Whatever, doesn't matter much to Techno.

They make their way into the barn. The area is indoors, providing miniscule relief from the biting cold and wind, but not completely, the place wasn't insulated. Still, Tommy visibly relaxes slightly with the doors shutting, and the wind cutting off. Techno wordlessly hands Tommy seeds and jerks his head towards the chickens, directing him. 

"Get the eggs too." He reminds him.

"Why, you baking me a cake?" Tommy jokes back, making his way to the pen.

"Uh, if I tried to bake you anything, it would end in the house being on fire. Nah, just get the goddamn eggs.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it." He says, rolling his eyes and waving Techno away. 

The task is simple enough, he gave the chickens their seed and they all rush to eat. Tommy finds himself pausing to watch them. Techno probably has every single one memorised, and the hierarchy of their pecking order, but Tommy is just content to just watch the scene unfold. He notices one, a tiny guy, as he sneaks around the others in an attempt to get to the centre, but no one's letting him in. Tommy, as quietly as he can, throws a small handful to him. The chicken gets a few good pieces before the rest notice that there's more and converge. Satisfied, he goes to the eggs. He collects them without incident, and returns back to find Technoblade, leaning against the wall and raising an eyebrow at him as he returns.

"What did you do, feed them piece by piece? What took you so long?" He asks, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"Shut up, I was getting your eggs, bitch." Tommy lightheartedly counters.

"Tommy, I probably fed  _ all  _ the other animals in the time it took you to feed  _ one _ ." 

"Oh yeah, well let's see how fast you really are, dumbass-" He takes an egg from the basket and throws it at Techno's head. Of course, he expertly dodges it, but Tommy still can't help but begin to laugh at his bewildered expression. Techno even begins to smirk back at him, when-

Not watching where he was going, Tommy's foot twists into a hole he didn't see was there. He falls ungracefully down and the eggs go flying. At first, Tommy only notices the pain in his ankle- holy  _ shit  _ that hurt, what did he even do?

Then, Techno's voice breaks through his pain. 

"What the  _ fuck _ , Tommy?! Seriously?" He snaps, looking at the mess of shattered eggs on the floor.

" _ God,  _ you goof around too much, man, that was a  _ week  _ of eggs!"

His foot is forgotten, as sheer panic begins to constrict his breathing and take over his senses. Oh, man, he fucked up, he fucked up bad.

"I- I'm sorry." He stutters. 

If Techno wasn't preoccupied with annoyance and the thought of all the bland breakfasts that were in his near future, he would have already seen the red flag there. Tommy  _ apologising  _ for a joke he played going wrong?

Tommy shakily begins to fiddle with his boots, ignoring the spike of pain in his ankle. They weren't his diamond ones, but they'd have to be okay for now, right? Techno could destroy the diamond ones if he wanted once they got back home.

"I- here. I'm sorry, I- all I have on me are the boots."

Techno gives Tommy a confused look back.

"What? Why would I want your boots?" He asks. Tommy lowers his gaze. 

"Right, of course. Sorry, I- just, do it then."

"Tommy what the  _ fuck  _ are you talking about?" The confusion was adding onto Technos already shortened temper. He doesn't have time to puzzle out whatever Tommy was talking about.

"Whatever, man, let's just go back." He says, turning and leaving before waiting for Tommy's response. He hears him stumble to his feet and follow, though.

Tommy tries to keep the sick feeling in his stomach in check as they walk, but he  _ knows  _ this one's gonna be bad. God, he wishes he'd worn more armour, enough that would make its destruction enough of a punishment. But no, Technoblade was going to hit him now, surely as soon as they got back. 

The nausea spiked in him as he remembered the last time him and Technoblade fought. Jeez, whatever the guy was going to do to him was going to be a thousand times worse than anything Dream ever did, wasn't it? He felt actually sick with fear, and his ankle protested with every step, but he didn't dare slow down his pace.

Tommy walks into the house as quietly as he can behind Techno, and braces himself. Technoblade calls out a greeting to Phil, grabs a book from the bookshelves and… sits down? For a second, Tommy stands there frozen, at a complete loss of what to do.

"Hey Tommy, how'd you like the animals? Techno's got a crazy collection, doesn't he?" Phil asks, walking into the room.

Tommy jumps slightly as Phil arrives, and alternates fearful glances from Techno back to Phil. Techno completely ignores him, entranced in his book, and Phil just looks at him expectantly. Tommy opens his mouth to answer, but then slams it shut.

A memory of a familiar voice screams in his ear,  _ "Shut the FUCK up Tommy! All you ever do is bitch and whine, maybe if you shut the fuck up for once, we wouldn't have to do this, huh?" Dream had said. He had just left Tommy with a sizable black eye and an aching ribcage, but was angry with him for crying. Dream didn't like it when he cried. Or talked back. Or talked at all, really, except for his loyal 'yes, Dream' and 'no, Dream' s.' _

Tommy said nothing, and let Phil's question hang in the air. Techno and Phil surely didn't want to hear him blabber on, especially now. He turns back and quickly hurries down the stairs, away from the two of them. No point in making them angrier. 

As he descends he wonders idly what Techno'll do with him, if he wasn't going to do this now. Dream, when he was going to hit him, usually just did it then and there. However, Tommy supposes it made sense for Techno to wait, he guesses? Maybe he wanted to figure out what specifically he wanted. Or,  _ god, _ maybe he wanted to transfer the responsibility to Phil, instead. Tommy shudders at the thought. He never  _ ever  _ wants to do something that bad that Phil would have to hurt him, he had no idea how he'd even react. He hopes,  _ prays _ , that if that ever comes, that he's able to keep his mouth shut and take it without crying like an annoying kid.

He hears footsteps clunking down the stairs, and Tommy tenses. Here it comes.

Phil calls out a quiet, "Tommy?"

_ God _ , no, please not Phil, anyone but Phil. Tommy bites down on his lip so hard to stop its trembling that he tastes blood. 

"Tommy, you down there? Are you okay, you seemed kind of… skittish when you got home. Techno says he didn't notice, but I'm betting you he did, nothing gets past him amirite?" Phil attempts to joke. He does not get a laugh. He does a once over of the basement, and finds Tommy sat in a corner, staring intently at the floor. Phil approaches him slowly, but still notices the subtle flinch Tommy gives at every step.

"Tomms? Are you okay?" He asks softly.

Tommy can't bear it, not hearing his stupid nickname, not Phil's gentle voice, not when he knows what's about to happen. The dam breaks, and he chokes out a terrified sob. Phil instinctively reaches out to comfort him, only to have Tommy violently flinch away. Phil retracts the hand in confusion, and is shocked further when Tommy stutters out,

"Please, Phil, don't- I'm so sorry, it- it was an accident, p- please, don't do this, take my boots, take whatever, or- or send Techno! I- I can handle it being him, I don't- I don't care if it hurts worse, just please, not you…"

"Tommy, buddy, slow down okay? Take a deep breath for me." Tommy does not, his breathing remains ragged and broken.

"Tommy, listen, okay, I have no idea what you're talking about. But you're safe here, alright? No one is going to hurt you."

Tommy pauses. 

"He… he didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Oh, I- I broke the eggs. It was stupid, so stupid, I was messing around and- Phil, please, don't- don't let him make you do it, okay? I don't care what he tries to-"

"Do  _ what  _ Tommy?"

"Punish me! Hit me, whatever! I- I offered him my stuff, you know t- to burn? But it wasn't enough, he- he's, I don't know what he's doing now, but when I fuck up, when my stuff isn't enough, I get hit. I- I promise I'll take it fine, I've had worse before, I just- I didn't want it to be you, Phil."

Phil freezes in place as the words sink in, as he makes the connection. One, tiny,  _ desperate  _ part of him wants to hunt Dream down and kill him, kill him slowly. Luckily (or not, depending on your outlook), helping Tommy takes precedent over his newfound homicidal urges.

"Tommy, listen to me, okay? You are  _ not in trouble _ . The eggs mean nothing! No one is mad at you, no one is going to take anything from you, and  _ God,  _ Tommy, no, no one is going to  _ hit  _ you!" Phil slowly explains. Tommy looks at him cautiously. 

"Here, buddy, come with me and I can prove it. Just trust me, it's okay."

Tommy is scared, he's  _ terrified,  _ but he trusts Phil. He stands up and slowly follows him back upstairs, trying to make his footfalls as quiet as he can. 

"Techno." Phil says.

"Yeah?" Techno replies, barely looking up from his book.

"Is Tommy in trouble for breaking eggs?"

The question shatters his concentration entirely. 

"What?  _ Trouble? _ This ain't a daycare, Tommy, I'm not dishin out time-outs over here. We'll live without eggs for a week."

Techno's response made no sense. Tommy, before he can stop himself, blurts out,

"Bu- But I broke the…I- you're saying  _ nothing  _ is gonna happen?  _ Why? _ "

Techno puts down his book slowly, and takes in Tommy and Phil properly for the first time. Phil looked definitely concerned, and Tommy was red-eyed like… was he  _ crying _ ? Did he care about omelettes  _ that  _ much?

"Tommy, it was an accident." He says. He was trying for the soft comforting tone that Phil effortlessly provides, but he doesn't know how close he gets. Something about Tommy's behaviour makes him wonder, though,

"What… what did you think was going to happen…?"

Tommy shifts an anxious gaze from Phil and back, questioning him silently. Phil murmurs an answer back, and Tommy takes what appears to be a steadying breath.

"I… would have been… in trouble, if you were Dream. Dream, um, he would have punished me for that."

Confirmation. Confirmation of what Techno suspected. Chat  _ rages _ , they want blood, and Techno can't help but agree. Despite their anger, he shoves it down, and responds, 

"Well, I'm not Dream. Neither is Phil."

Tommy manages a weak laugh. 

"Well, good on that. Dream is a bitch."

"Yeah, I'll drink to that, I guess." Techno jokes, returning to his book. Phil reaches out and gives Tommy a one armed hug, and Tommy suppresses his flinch to allow it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to give so so so much (all) of the credit for me writing this to TheManOfManyFandoms wonderful fic Lonely, his writing is wonderful and it 100% inspired me. I hope the similarities aren't too crazy haha, I try to put my own spin on the concept while keeping his *chefs kiss* excellent vibes~


	2. Armour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter cw: mentions of violence

Tommy woke up the next morning _amazed_ at himself. How on _Earth_ did he manage to get himself out of that one yesterday? He flips through the events in his mind, trying to pinpoint what he did right, but honestly comes up empty. There was no reason why Techno didn't beat the shit out of him. Perhaps it was just luck, them not wanting to be too hard on him so early on? He remembers Dream never hit him until a few weeks of exile, so he assumes that must be it. Still, he figures he'd better be on his best behaviour anyway. He tip toes down the stairs to find, unsurprisingly, Technoblade awake.

"Sup." He greets.

"Hello." Tommy responds.

"Food's in the kitchen, if you wanna eat now, or wait til Phil's up. He's probably gonna cook."

"Oh, uh, okay." He says, and turns into the kitchen. _Man,_ the thought of Phil's breakfasts, hell, _any_ hot food sounds amazing to him, but he knows he probably shouldn't. He grabs a bit of bread from the counter and sits down. Techno comes in, and Tommy again suppresses a jump at the sound of the door. He takes his glass to the sink to wash, but turns back to ask,

"Aren't teenagers supposed to eat a lot more? Aren't you growin' or some shit?"

A few snarky comebacks pop into Tommy's head, and he's tempted to let them off- he doesn't like it when people comment on what he eats- but he shoots out a simple,

"Fuck off."

Techno goes back to washing his dish.

"What's on the agenda today?" Tommy asks.

"I think I'm going mining. You're welcome to join if you want."

To Techno's surprise, Tommy grimaces. Mining reminds him of Dream, following him closely as he works, watching him use his spoils to craft new iron things, then immediately blowing them up. Mining reminds him of underground passages, of sewers, of paths he'll never walk on again. It's not his favourite activity. 

"No, thank you." He mutters stiffly. 

Techno glances back at him, confused. He thought the kid would be excited to come mining, or at the very least, excited to finally get some armour on. Tommy's response confused him, he swears, every time Techno feels like he's getting to understand what goes on in the kid's head, he does strange shit like this. 

"Uh, no problem, I mean, there's always shit to do around here. You can get the honey with Phil when he gets up."

With that, and his dish clean, Techno leaves. Tommy appraises the interaction after he left, was he annoying? He didn’t _think_ he did too bad.

Techno had already left, pickaxe in hand, by the time Phil woke up, but still he did, as promised, cook. Tommy’s mouth watered at the thought of the food, but he refused again. He wondered if he could sneak some later, when no one was watching? It'd surely be easier with Techno out for the day. 

Tommy and Phil spend the day doing odd chores around the house, collecting this, repairing that, whatever Phil thought needed work. Tommy found it oddly comforting, the repetitive nature of the tasks, the comfortable silence he and Phil found themselves lapsing into. It was a bonus, too, that when they weren't talking, the less chances Tommy had at upsetting him. 

Technoblade arrived at sundown, carrying with him all the supplies he had gathered. He barely nodded them a greeting before going downstairs, presumably to smelt ores and put everything away. Tommy quietly follows him down, a few minutes later.

"Oi, need help big man?" He asks. It looked like Techno had a _lot_ of shit, the least Tommy could do is help organize it. 

"Sure, put this away." He said, handing Tommy a bag full of gold ore. Tommy obliged, and then watched as Techno grabbed something from a furnace, and went back to working on whatever he was working on. He was tempted to ask what he was doing, but the question again died in his throat. 

_Don't make anyone angry_ , he reminded himself, and surely Techno would be annoyed to be interrupted and questioned about his projects. Tommy slipped back upstairs in silence, and into his room. 

Almost an hour later, Technoblade walks into his room and plops a set of armour down in front of him as casually as if it were nothing. 

"I- what is this?" He asks, bewildered.

"Armour." Techno deadpans back.

"Yeah, no shit, dickhea- I meant _why_?"

Techno shrugs, seeming to bleed nonchalance, although Tommy swears he sees him watching him intently from the corner of his eye.

"It's just iron, but you'll be needing _something_ if you're gonna be runnin around here. Not wastin' my potions on you every time you get shot by a skeleton."

Tommy looks, and it _wasn't_ just iron armour. Though that is indeed what the pieces were made of, it needed no trained eye to see that these were _Technoblade_ pieces of armour. They were crafted with the expertise and skill that only Techno could provide, nothing at all like any armour Tommy ever made. Where his were hastily made and shabby, these were sturdy, flexible where they needed to be, and the chestplate was actually shining with hints of… magic?

"Prot 4. Had an extra book laying around." He explained.

Tommy felt a lump begin to form in his throat without his consent. He swallowed against it forcefully, and said a quiet,

"Thank you," not trusting his voice to remain steady if he spoke any louder. 

The raw honesty of Tommy's voice catches Techno off guard, and he gives him a curt nod, before hurrying out of the room. He's _not_ dealing with crying children today.

Tommy sits there a minute, staring in disbelief at his new armour. Then, when a rush of excitement hits him, he throws it all on, and runs out the room, exclaiming,

"PHIL LOOK, I AM THE BIGGEST MAN. I AM SO FUCKING POWERFUL!"

Techno did not notice how Tommy didn't take the armour off for days, except for sleep, he did not notice that at all. And he definitely did not feel the tiniest, smallest bit of pride every time he saw him in it, despite what chat said, despite their “awe”s. Pft, what does chat know, anyway?

\----------------

Tommy was pleased when, the next day, Techno went back down into the mines. Being sneaky was much easier when there was only one person to keep track of.

Of course, Tommy did feel a pang of guilt at the idea of sneaking food, he was _supposed_ to be on his best behaviour, but the constant growling of his stomach was something he could only ignore for so long before it overcame reason. It’s not like he didn’t eat, he politely accepted food when it was offered, but he wasn’t going to take their food without permission! So what if he went to bed hungry some days?

He announced to Phil that he would be taking a nap, that he didn’t sleep well the night before. It wasn’t even a total lie, Tommy only managed about three hours last night before he was woken by nightmares, and Phil knew it too. He was encouraged to get some rest, and his ruse was set. He sneaks as quietly as he can into the kitchen, and begins to rummage around. _Bread_ . That was good, very good, he could hide that in his room easily and it wouldn’t spoil. His eyes almost pop out of his skull when he spies _chicken_. Well, that wouldn’t keep in his room, but he grabs some now and wolfs it down. He wonders if taking a second piece would be noticed, surely no one is keeping close tabs on the-

“Tommy?” Phil asks, suddenly appearing in the kitchen before him.

Shit. Shit shit shit shit. He needs to go fast, it’s better if he complies fast.

“What’re you doing up, man?” He asks, tone casual, but Tommy knows that doesn’t mean shit. Dream knew how to mask anger too. His hands move in a whirlwind, muscle memory guiding him to the straps of his armour and unclasping them. The armour piles on the floor between them.

“Tommy…?” 

“I’m sorry.” He says, automatic. 

“I- for what, man?” Phil asks, sounding confused. Tommy flinches, the question causing memories to flash in his mind. Dream would have Tommy admit what he did out loud as well, before he was punished. He fucking hated it, it made him feel like a child, but he supposes that was the point, wasn't it? 

Tommy was already caught, no point in trying to preserve pride now.

“I took your food. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” He places half the bread on the table, hoping that maybe he could at least keep some, if Phil didn’t notice? He’s reminded, though, of what happened last time he hid something from Dream, and he hurriedly puts the rest of what he took on the table too. Being hit hurt worse than the hunger pangs would, he knew for a fact. Phil was looking at him with quite a strange expression, and speaks to him cautiously,

“Tommy… it’s- it’s fine. It’s not mine or yours or Techno’s, it’s everyone’s. You don’t have to- you can take whatever you want, whenever. It’s fine.”

Tommy appraises him with a guarded look. Was he serious? Phil didn’t seem the type for mind games. He decides after a moment that, for some reason, he must be telling the truth. 

“I- right. Right. Uh, I- thank you.”

Quickly, before Phil could change his mind or decide to do anything else, he scurries out of the kitchen and upstairs. Well, he didn’t gain any extra food, but he avoided another punishment at least. Except-

 _Shit._ Tommy remembers his armour. He lets out a frustrated groan, damnit, it was probably already blown to smithereens. A part of him thinks that he never actually heard an explosion, but he tries to squash that hope as best he can. He’d just have to go down into the mines himself and get more, even though he was certain he’d never be able to remake it like Techno’s, and he's certain he'd have a _miserable_ time of it. He’s in the middle of his sulking when he was _rudely_ interrupted by a knock at the door. He grunts an invitation in, and Phil shyly enters. A part of Tommy’s brain not occupied by grumpiness tenses, did Phil change his mind about letting Tommy off?

“Hey Tomms, forgot your armour downstairs.” He says, and he hears what sounds like metal being set down on the floor. Wait, _what?_ He flings himself into sitting position to confirm what he just heard, and it was true. _His armour was_ _there_. 

“Well, see you la-”

“Wait!” Tommy calls to Phil before he can leave. He has no idea why, perhaps it was because he brought his armour back, but he finds himself saying, “Wait- I- stay. For a minute, if- if you’re not busy, if you want to.” Phil, before he turns back, gives a small triumphant smile. He wasn’t _sure_ Tommy would want to talk about it, but he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the bread he brought for both of them, ignoring it when he sees Tommy's eyes widen hungrily. Tommy reluctantly takes a piece, and searches his head for what the hell he was going to say.

“Why… the armour?” He gestured vaguely towards the floor.

“What do you mean?”

Tommy took a bite of bread to avoid the question, he didn’t _know_. He didn’t know how to talk to Phil, not when he was behaving so strangely, not when he acted so confusing. Luckily, he didn't need to, Phil spoke next. 

“Tomms, look- can I just… can ask you something?"

He nods.

"You look at me sometimes, like you expect me to do something, or say something, and then I _see_ how confused you are when I don’t. You’ve been doing the same thing the entire time you’ve been here, you're doing it now. If… if there’s something you need from me, you have to tell me, because I'm not getting it. I think I understand you, sometimes, but then it’s like a switch flips, you know?”

Tommy is taken aback,

“Wha- _You_ guys are the ones acting weird, not me!” He defends. 

“Tell me, then. Tell me what I’m doing that’s weird.” Phil instructs. Tommy doesn't know that he has an answer. He starts with the most basic oddity.

"I- Why the armour?"

"You left it in the middle of the floor, someone would've tripped."

"No, I- why give it back at all? Why didn't you destroy it?" 

"That's where you lose me, Tomms. Is that… is that what you expect me to do? Destroy your things? Why would I do that?"

He lets out a frustrated huff, before

"Phil, why _wouldn't_ you? I- I've been nothing but a nightmare the entire time I've been here! I- I keep messing shit up, I've been taking your stuff, I've been yelling too loud, annoying you all, I- I deserved my shit destroyed- or _some_ kind of punishment, at least like a _week_ ago, and I don't know what you're waiting for!"

Phil looks sad. He says quietly,

"Is that what he did? Over there?"

Tommy becomes very interested in his bread.

"Tommy. Is that what Dream did to you when he got upset?"

"Only when I upset him first," Tommy corrects. Phil forces his expression to remain calm, forces his voice to remain steady.

"Tommy. I will never, ever do anything like that. I will never destroy your things. I will never hurt you."

Tommy had heard shit like that from lots of people before, and the way he usually dismissed it was smiling along and agreeing, but somehow, Tommy found himself telling the truth. 

"I don't believe you."

"That's fine, that's absolutely understandable." Phil said. "But. If you'll let me, I will convince you. I'll be here for you, if you want, I'll give you space, if you need that. I will do whatever I have to to make you feel safe here."

Tommy chewed on his bread silently, appraising his words. For some reason, for the second time that day, Tommy was confused to find he was telling the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the tiniest, bare minimum of communication pog! good for you boys!


	3. Visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW for mild violence

Living with Techno and Phil was a strange thing, indeed, especially after their talk. Phil was certainly living up to his promise, treating Tommy very carefully. He would have been more angry at it if he thought it was pity, but for some reason he didn’t think it was. It’s like he was just… paying very close attention. If he was too close and saw Tommy tense, he backed off, always peppered in ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ when asking him to do chores, so that it wasn’t an order. And of course, whenever he had one of his- er…  _ issues _ , Phil was always patient with him, offering him water and comfort as he cried. Tommy wasn’t used to it, wasn’t used to anyone caring enough to learn what made him uncomfortable in the first place, much less going out of their way to avoid it.

Techno was, at least, still Techno. He never was much for talking then, and surely not now. Tommy saw how he followed Phil’s lead though, trying not to do anything he knew was sure to send Tommy freaking out. His support was always in the form of action rather than words, repairing Tommy’s armour for him, pointedly leaving when Tommy seemed to be getting overwhelmed, and once, as he saw him struggling to craft some arrows, he silently came over and showed him a better way. It was always like that with Techno, his tiny gestures of affection. 

Tommy was slowly getting used to life here, it was beginning to seem… normal? So when Phil ran into the house and  _ slammed  _ the door behind him, Tommy immediately recognised that as  _ not  _ normal. The door did not slam. Not ever. Not by Phil.

Tommy, on instinct, flinches back from his spot on the couch, and lands on Techno. Techno tenses at the physical contact, but Tommy doesn’t notice, still reeling from the noise. Phil pays them no mind, and urgently says,

“Dream.” He practically spits the name. “Closeby, coming here.” 

Those words not only fill Techno, but his chat with rage. How  _ dare  _ Dream show his face here? He’s so angry, he doesn’t even feel Tommy cringe inward, and grab onto his shirt as if for dear life in a white-knuckled grip.

“I should kill him.” Techno says. Chat gives him some good suggestions that he's verbalizing before he even realises it “I could cut off his kneecaps so he can't run…"  _ You have harming pots in the… " _ I should…”

He's forcefully distracted from chat by Tommy's horrified gasp, and unfamiliar footsteps creaking the front steps. Tommy grips Techno's shirt tighter and begs,

"Please, Tech, just make him leave, please."

And so Techno was helpless to do otherwise. Whenever Tommy, stubborn, eternally headstrong Tommy was freaked out enough to  _ beg,  _ it was so unnatural Techno would do anything to stop it. That, and emotional children made him extremely uncomfortable. It was some mix of those two things that gave Dream a chance of leaving this place alive, and those alone.

Phil approaches them both and puts a potion in Tommy’s hands, he drinks it without question. Tommy shimmers slightly as the magic takes effect, and then he fades into invisibility, even though Techno still feels his weight on his chest. Phil reaches for the invisible kid, and with encouragement, Tommy releases Techno from his hold and transfers to Phil. Techno didn’t need to see him to feel he was shaking as he went.

A knock on the door breaks their tense silence, Techno grabs his sword, and swings the door open.

"What?" He grunts. Dream smiles at him innocently.

“Hey Technoblade, Philza, what's up? How are you guys?”

Techno was having none of these stupid pleasantries, especially not when he was just barely holding back from killing him.

“Speak now or forever hold your peace, Dream, I'm about to slam the door on you.”

Dream’s perfectly crafted smile cracks slightly, but no sooner than Techno saw the anger, it was gone.

“Of course. I was wondering if you knew where Tommy was?”

"No. Thought he was with Wilbur in log town, is he not?" Techno lies smoothly.

“He is not.”

“Sucks for you then. Bye.” 

The door slams, Dream knocks again. Techno sighs deeply, but opens the door once more.

“What? I answered your question, get off my property.” He snaps. Dream’s friendly demeanor had changed, his stupid smile was now blatantly bordering on sinister. 

“Technoblade, you know, I consider you an ally.”

“Don't.”

“Give me Tommy, Techno.”

Tommy, from inside, barely suppresses a sob. He was gripping onto Phil like a child, desperate for some sembalce of comfort, the invisibility making it somehow less embarrassing. Techno sounded perfectly baffled when he responds,

“You think  _ I  _ have Tommy?” 

“Don't fucking lie to me-” 

“Get off my property Dream. That's an order this time, I'm done with this conversation.”

“Listen to me-” Dream begins, tone shifting low and threatening. It causes Tommy to shudder in familiarity, and Phil hugs him tighter. Dream takes a step forward, and it's too close, Techno snaps. Before Tommy can register the motion, they're flying at each other. Tommy barely keeps himself quiet as he watches them go. Phil drops Tommy onto the couch, hisses a desperate,

“ _ Stay here _ .” And rushes out after Techno.

Tommy freezes in fear for a minute after the loss of contact, but hearing the noises from the fight unlocks his limbs, he scrambles to the snow covered porch to anxiously watch his brother battle. Phil was nowhere to be seen, so it was just Dream and Techno, locked in a deadly dance. The actual details go too fast for Tommy to fully register, both of them a blur of fients and blocks and dodges. He has no way of even gauging who has the upper hand, and he must cover his mouth with his hand to keep from screaming, from instinctively crying out to Techno. He looks on in hopeless horror as a blow lands, and someone's bleeding. Please,  _ please _ not Technoblade, Tommy hopes.

Motion catches his eye suddenly, by the treeline. It’s too far to make anything out, so he locks back onto Techno and Dream, temporarily separated from their dance and watching each other intently, waiting for the other to make the first move. They’re semi circling each other, but Tommy can see from his vantage point further away that Techno is subtly moving towards the trees.  _ Fuck,  _ he hopes they don’t go into the woods, Tommy won’t be able to follow, and he thinks he’ll panic if he just has to sit in the house and  _ wait _ . Wait for either Techno to come back or… No. Not that. Any other outcome is impossible to consider. 

They get closer and closer, Dream feints an attack right, but Techno easily predicts it and raises his shield. Something flashes in the trees again, and then what happens next happens is another big blur.

Dream wasn't even looking, attention completely focused on Techno, Phil reveals himself from the trees, and in the same motion brings a blade to his throat. Tommy quickly looks away, but he still hears the blood hitting the snow, something thus heavily, then the  _ whoosh  _ of a respawn.

Dream's first life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DING DONG THE WICKED BITCH IS DEAD. ITS A SHAME THE BITCH DIDNT DIE 87 YEARS AGO.  
> he has more lives tho sooooo. damn.
> 
> this is short but its only because the next ones gonna be long as hell dw


	4. Silence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter CW: panic attacks, anxiety

Tommy backs away from the porch slowly, but picks up speed as he enters the house. The adrenaline of the situation fading, everything was crashing down on him suddenly. He- Tommy's so lightheaded, his stomach is churning threateningly- no, yup, he rushes to the nearest bin and promptly empties his stomach contents into it. The nausea fades, thankfully, but the rest of his body is still sure it's dying, and of course it is, everything's going too _fast_ for that to not be the case. He can't- Dream found him. The thought makes him flings himself up from his spot on the floor, but his foot catches something, and he stumbles, scraping his hands as he catches his fall. Dream found him. He- he’s getting confused, he doesn't- he doesn't know where he is, his breathing was speeding up out of his control, Dream found him, Dream was here, he needs to- he’s got to-

_Hide._

Yes, the thought breaks through the haze. Hide, hide, he has to hide. He’s safe when he hides. He stumbles down the stairs, down, trying not to fall again. He knows where to go, he’s had all of the potential hiding spots in this house scoped out since day one. He doesn't need to think about it. In the middle of two chests, deep in the basement, he squirms himself in.

The tight space helps him, makes him feel more secure, less like he was going to explode. He hears people yelling his name, and he grits his teeth to keep his mouth shut, to keep from crying. He must be silent, or he'll find him, he's only safe when he's silent. Dream knew where he was, Dream was going to kill him if he wasn't quiet. _Shut up Tommy shut up Tommy shut up shut up shut up-_

Someone was coming downstairs.

“Tommy?!” A voice calls for him, sounding panicked. He's in the basement with him. He's going to hurt him-

“He’s in here, Phil, there are no tracks outside. He must be hiding.”

“ _WELL WHERE THE HELL IS HE THEN, TECHNO?_ ” One of them snaps, and Tommy can’t help it, the voice is so loud, he’s so afraid, he flinches and his back hits the chest. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I just- why- why would he _hide_ from us? I don’t-” But the voice is cut off. Everything is silent for one moment, then, horribly, steps get closer to him. Tommy can’t look, he shuts his eyes and covers his ears and tries to not be here. He still hears a chest make an awful noise as it’s dragged away, and then there’s nothing protecting him anymore.

Nothing, of course, except the magic keeping him invisible. If Tommy were looking, he would see that the man was definitely looking in his direction, but not _at_ him.

“It's Tommy.” 

“What- how can you tell?”

“I heard him move, man what did you think that was? You think we have _rats_ down here? And look, you can see the particles, just barely.”

“Not everyone has super hearing like you, Tech.” He says, but there’s no bite to it, his voice filled now with pure relief.

There’s more shuffling, and then Tommy hears an incredibly soft voice speaking to him.

“Tommy…? Tommy, bud, he’s gone now, it’s just us. You’re safe. You don’t need to hide.”

“It’s wearing off, Phil.”

Tommy remains frozen. He doesn’t… he was very very confused. In his panic, he thought… he thought they were Dream? He thought Dream was here, wasn’t he? And Dream was going to kill him. But these people didn't seem like Dream, and they weren’t killing him, so that’s a step in the right direction. Not enough for him to get up, though, not until his panicked mind stopped blurring reality and nightmare so much.

He could see that they were right, though, his potion was fading from his bloodstream, the loss of effects leaving him feeling incredibly drained. He saw his limbs flicker back into existence, and the two people’s eyes were able to focus on him properly. He never does end up moving from his hiding spot, because with the potion's effects leaving his body, his terror waning, he finds himself passed out before he can decide anything.

\----------------

He wakes in his room, in his bed. For a split second, it’s exactly like a normal morning. He stretches, he wonders if he could get Phil to make him an omelette, but then he remembers. Dream, the fight, his death, and then what’s probably the worst part, Tommy freaking the fuck out and hiding in the basement. 

He doesn’t immediately have time to dwell on it, because Phil pokes his head into Tommy’s room. He glances over at him, and is surprised when Tommy looks back.

“Oh! You’re awake! I- oh, Tommy- Here, let me get you some water!”

Phil is back in a flash, carrying not only water, but milk and a… baked potato?

“Here, water, milk just in case there’s any residual potion effects, and uh, Techno made breakfast, so…” 

Tommy chugs the water in one swing, and then sips on the milk in between bites of his potato. Tommy wants to thank him, wants to tell him he’s fine and that he shouldn’t worry, but Phil asks first,

“Are you hurt anywhere, buddy? We saw you scraped your hands, but nothing a bit of washing and some bandages can’t fix. Did you hurt anything else?” He asks gently.

No, he’s not hurt anywhere, he knows that. He starts to tell him so, then-

The words die in his throat. 

Wait.

Oh, no.

Phil is still looking at him with concern, and Tommy knows it'll only get worse if he doesn't answer, so he quickly shakes his head no. Thankfully, Phil doesn't notice and his concern melts into relief.

“Good! I- good. Do you… want to talk about it? About anything that happened?"

He can't. It doesn't even matter if he wanted to or not, because he fucking can't. He already feels it, a feeling he's unfortunately too familiar with.

It started in Logstedshire, Tommy's involuntary stretches of silence, the irrational blocks in his head that feel as real as physical boundaries keeping him from speaking. Ghostbur didn't really understand it, and Dream was always downright pleased. It's never for lack of _trying,_ of course, Tommy always _tried_ to brute force his way through the block, but it never worked. Not once.

It was fine when Tommy was on his own and couldn't speak, just him alone in the woods, but here… _fuck,_ Tommy had hoped he wouldn't have to deal with this here.

Phil interpretes his silence as a no.

"It's okay, Tomms, you don't have to-"

He shakes his head violently, getting frustrated from Phil's misinterpretation. This won't do. He whips the blankets off from him, gets up, and brushes past Phil. 

When Tommy stomps down the stairs in an angry huff and starts to rummage through chests, Phil following him a second behind, the oddity does cause Techno to drop his book. Techno hopes one of them would provide an explanation, but no one does, so eventually, he must ask,

"Care to explain?" 

Phil gives him a baffled shrug, and Tommy ignores him.

Tommy's anger is only making the block worse, he feels it, trapping him, but he can't help it. When his hands finally feel the leather binding of a book, some of it thankfully manages to swap into relief. He scribbles hastily, and hands the book over to Phil.

_voice gone no big deal be back in a few days or something i dont know. can you make me an omelette?_

"'Voice gone?'" Phil quotes, "Did you hurt your throat?" Tommy shakes his head no, and reaches for the book back.

_not like that, its in me head, dunno why but it happens sometimes its fine can you make me an omelette?_

For effect, he adds a simple picture of Phil making him an omelette. 

"I- okay, first, we still don't have eggs. I'm sorry."

Tommy felt the urge to stab shit, he begins to articulate it in the book.

"Second, can- can you elaborate any more on that first bit?"

"Who cares, we can just use sign language if he's not gonna talk." Techno adds from his spot on the couch.

"That's… a really good idea, Techno. But you know I don't know much, just what you've taught me. Tommy?"

He shakes his head no.

"Damn." Techno says, returning to reading.

Phil looks thoughtful for a second, then pats him softly on the shoulder. Tommy smiles besides himself at the comfort.

"Don't worry Tommy, we'll figure this out. For now, you can use that book to-"

Techno interrupts, "actually, can he use a different one? I need that one for-"

"Not the point."

"I- but-"

"Not the point!"

"Right."

"Tomms, I think that not speaking is a perfectly normal response to traumatic situations. Today, you should just focus on relaxing, so your mind can process whatever it needs to, and then hopefully you'll be feeling better soon." Tommy wrote back,

_brain doesn’t need to process shit, im fine_

Phil reads that and rolls his eyes,

"Yeah, alright Tommy." He says, clearly sarcastic. "Techno?"

The man grunts in response to his name.

"I can handle the chores today, you stay here with Tommy and make sure he relaxes, okay?"

" _What?_ " Techno protests, dropping his book again to look at Phil. This begins a strange staring contest, they appear to be having some kind of entire conversation without speaking. The climax of which being Phil glaring at him firmly, crossing his arms and warning,

"Technoblade..." 

Techno throws his arms up in surrender, lets out a 

"Fine! Okay!" 

"Very good. Make sure he eats and drinks water, okay?"

"I was going to say 'Phil, I can care for another human for a few hours', but y'know what? Meh."

Tommy furiously scratches, 

_Phil don't leave me with Technoblade he's going to talk to me about Thesues and shit-_

But before his message can be relayed, Phil has said his quick goodbyes and left. 

\----------

They sit in a casual silence, Techno still enamoured with his book for about an hour after Phil leaves. Tommy busies himself as well, fixing a torn hoodie. They don't really have any red string, so the patch is bit obvious, but who really cares, as long as it's fixed, ri-

"I can teach you some basic signs." 

The statement makes Tommy jump, it was the first time Techno had spoken this entire time. He's surprised even more to see that Techno had moved, too, without Tommy noticing.

Tommy was interested in learning though, and nods his head. Techno turns from him and heads towards the door, and Tommy puts away his hoodie and grabs his own gear, _assuming_ he was meant to follow him outside, but it was always hard to tell with Techno.

He assumed right, though. Techno sits him down in the frigid snow and starts to show him some simple stuff, yes and no, the sign for food, and letters. Tommy insisted on learning the word for "stab" and "fuck" as well. 

When he's sure his fingers are going to freeze off the next time he spells out a letter, he grabs his book and writes,

_why are we out here big man?_

"The cold, it's good for learnin'." He taps his own forehead with his finger,

"Good for the brain."

_thats stupid but okay. can you teach me more swears?_

Techno plops down heavily in a chair, and says,

"Nope. Think you learned enough today. Any more and you'll probably start to forget."

Tommy would most certainly _not_ , his memory was great, but he shrugs in acceptance. Tommy lingers awkwardly nearby, unsure again what he should do. Should he... go inside, then? Techno didn’t seem to care one way or the other, but he surprised Tommy again by speaking,

"You worried Phil yesterday. He thought you ran. I knew you didn't though."

Okay, guess they were talking then. But Tommy doesn't know how to respond to that sentence, so he doesn't. 

"There's only one thing I don't understand, though."

Tommy nods at him to continue, curious.

"You weren't hiding from Dream. You _watched_ the fight happen, I saw your footprints in the snow. And even if you were, we were calling for you." He states.

Techno turns to him, expectant, waiting, but Tommy says nothing. He kicks his boots in the snow to avoid the eye contact, but Techno is apparently more patient than he is, prepared to wait Tommy out. He simmers in the silence for a minute before giving in under the weight of his stare and scratches on his notebook,

_So?_

"So? Wh- you hid from _us_ , Tommy. But why? I can't figure it out."

Tommy stares down at the floor, trying to push back embarrassment. He was right, of course, Tommy _was_ hiding from them, but he could never tell Techno why. It’s not… the first time that’s happened, sometimes when he gets like that, he can’t distinguish what’s real and what’s in his head, what’s happening and what’s a memory. But that was the first time they saw it, wasn’t it? How was he going to explain that?

"You didn't think I'd _lose_ did you? To that green idiot? Tommy, he's homeless." Techno jokes, trying to lighten the mood. Tommy does bring the end of his mouth up in a smirk, but still won't meet his eyes.

Tommy puts his pen onto the paper, trying to think of what to say.

_I got confused_

It's the best he can do.

"Confused?" Techno wonders aloud. But what else can Tommy say, surely if he told him, Techno would immediately think he was crazy. What's there to be confused about? Tommy's reaction was completely over the top, as usual, as usual Tommy was _overreacting, causing problems,_ _misbehaving-_

Techno's hand grabs his, stopping it in its tracks. He was midway from unbuckling his chestplate, he realised. 

"Hey. None of that. You keep that on."

Tommy nods, and then furiously shakes his head to clear it. What were they talking about again?

"You didn't, uh... know where you were, did you? Who _we_ were?"

Oh.

"I… don't know why I framed that as question, actually. I saw it. You didn't know who we were."

Tommy tenses, and writes,

_why wouldn't I know who you are? im not crazy, you know_

"No, of course you're not!" Techno rushes to say.

"That's not- jeez, that's not what I meant. I- man." Techno grips the base of his nose like he had a bad headache, or, like Tommy knows, his 'chat' is yelling at him. This causes Tommy to smirk, just a little.

_what r they calling you?_

"Nothing, nothing." He says, clearly implying they were calling him _something_.

"I was _saying_ \- Tommy… it's okay to be… confused. Especially in stressful situations like that. You can't help it." 

He seemed to regain some of his composure while speaking, likely meaning his head calmed down some. Tommy grimaces at his assertion. Even if Techno was right, he doesn't like not being able to help things. 

"You know, I've gotten confused like that too." Techno says, sounding very hesitant. 

Tommy signs _yes_ , but tilts his head to the side to indicate confusion. Techno interprets it to be more like a 'really?'

"Yep."

He fidgets in his chair a minute, conflicted, weighing his options.

"I… also do understand what it's like. To be thrown back, back into something bad, by your own head. It's scary and it sucks. But you know, for me, it got a lot better with Phil here. And now you have Phil too. And me, I guess."

Tommy smiles, and even though it's a little shy, it's genuine. He elbows Techno lightly in the shoulder.

"Gosh, I'm so bad at this. I'm not used to carrying the conversation, okay?! This is new to me!"

Tommy chuckles at him.

"But hey, Phil got what he wanted, right?"

That actually catches Tommy off guard,

_what?_

"Wait, really? You didn't get that? That's the whole reason why he left you here with _me_ , he could have _definitely_ stayed with you, but he wanted us to, uh, 'bond', I guess?"

Tommy considers it for a second, and rolls his eyes. That did make sense, it was certainly something Phil _would_ do. 

_did it work? did we 'bond'_

"Eh, sure, why not? Hey, what if we like... changed clothes, dipped our old clothes in water, and pretend we had a snowball fight? Phil'd probably be so happy, he'd cook dinner _and_ do the dishes!"

_we can try and convince him to make omelettes_

Techno hummed happily at the thought. 

"You know what, Tommy? You might not be low IQ after all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pog
> 
> I hope this depiction of Tommy's mutism its okay, if anyone has any critiques or thoughts lmk 🥺


	5. Hunter/Hunted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter CW: blood, violence, mentions of panic attacks, mentions of past abuse

Days pass, and the house is double, triple fortified. Technoblade and Phil spend a majority of their time setting up traps, securing much, much more supplies than any human being would ever need, and just overall preparing. Tommy is invited to help, as he always is, but he tends to decline, preferring to stay inside. As relieving as the extra security was, he didn't like the constant reminders that  _ he will be back. _

Because that's why they were doing this, wasn't it? They knew he was coming back. Like an ugly stupid trident, or boomerang, or something. For his own sanity's sake, Tommy tries to ignore that thought as much as possible.

He's still not talking for a whole  _ week _ afterward, one of the worst stretches of his silences yet. He fucking hates it, but there's not much he can do, so he tries to ignore that too. He ignores a lot, actually. Focuses instead on fun things, like sledding, which the snow was thick enough to do now! Winter was descending on them fast, days getting shorter, nights colder. Tommy was never cold in the house though, considering Techno could probably keep a fire lit underwater.

Time ticks by with nothing particularly interesting happening, and inevitably, Tommy begins to feel slightly… better? At least, his thoughts are no longer completely consumed by Dream, now, maybe only half of them. Less if it was a good day. He thinks, maybe Dream decided to cut his losses and spend his time harassing someone else. Maybe he wasn't coming back. 

Phil and he learn more signs, Phil teaches him how to breathe through his panic attacks, and what to do when he's not entirely sure that what he's seeing is real. It was only when Tommy quietly whispered a "thank you" to Phil when he passed him a water bottle, that he realised things might actually be getting back to normal. Imagine that, feeling normal again. 

Yeah. He should have fucking known better.

\-------------  
  


"Tomms, if you want an omelette so badly, fine, I'll make it, but I'm not going out into a fuckin' blizzard for eggs. You go." Phil finally concedes, after about five minutes of Tommy's  ~~ whining ~~ expert persuasion techniques.

This was a total no brainer deal for Tommy, he throws on boots and runs outside, taunting over his shoulder,

"You guys are pussys! It's not even snowing that hard!" as he went. The chill of the wind immediately hits him, and he doubles down on his sprint to the barn. He dodges the various tripwires easily, even with the downpour of snow. He had had them memorised for ages, something Techno had admitted was, 'mildly impressive', considering how bloody  _ many  _ there were. Tommy beams a smile at himself at the memory. Of course at the time he had bragged that it was easy, since he was such a Big Man, but he was secretly kind of ecstatic at the praise.

As soon as the barn door shuts, cutting off the biting wind, the cold gets significantly better. He forces his muscles to relax now that they weren't freezing, and makes his way to the chickens. He probably wouldn't need to grab a basket for this or anything, he was only grabbing like, what three eggs? Yeah, that should be fine. He's so concentrated on eggs, the voice makes him jump.

"Hello, Tommy."

He tenses for a fraction of a second, but then, as information slots into place, he calms. No, Dream couldn’t actually be in here. That meant- he lets out an annoyed sigh, another damn Dream hallucination. Couldn't his mind get any more creative than that? Well, at least it was just a voice. He bends down to grab one more egg for good measure.

"Hey! Tommy!" It calls out again. Tommy ignores it, and turns back with his soon to be breakfast in hand. 

_ Shit!  _ He jumps as he realises he was wrong, along with being a voice, there he was, in all his ugly ass green glory, standing in the barn. Tommy forces his eyes closed and takes deep breaths, like Phil showed him. His fear subsides some, and he opens his eyes. It’s still there, but Tommy feels calmer now. He actually can't help but be mildly impressed at his head, this Dream looked particularly real, standing and glaring at him impatiently. It was stupid. He picks up his pace as he makes his way back towards the door, when all of a sudden the damn thing appears in front of him, almost making him trip over himself when it does. 

"Tommy!" Dream snaps, insisting Tommy's attention. His irritation flares, he knows he's supposed to ignore them, but this one is really pissing him off.

"You're not  _ real _ , dickhead. Fuck off." He mutters at it.

The bastard has the nerve to look  _ offended _ for a split second, but then-

The fist that hits him is so hard it makes his vision swim. He manages to not fall completely over when he throws his leg behind him, but his eggs go flying. Dammit _ ,  _ what is with his bad luck with eggs? Then, the pain hits, and  _ fuck _ . He's almost sure something is broken, by the way blood is absolutely  _ pouring  _ out of his nose.

“‘Not real’, eh? You sure?" Dream sneers. 

It takes a second, but Tommy understands.

"D-Dream…?" He whimpers, and he's so horrified, he can't even bother to care that it came out that way. No. No, no, how- how? How was he _here_? That doesn't make sense. He wasn't supposed to be able to- how did he-

Dream circles him slowly, like a hunter stalking prey. Tommy, although feeling slightly foggy from being punched, keeps spinning with him, refusing to let his back be turned. 

"Did you really think you could  _ escape  _ me Tommy? Really?  _ Your only friend? _ "

Tommy can't form a response- he can’t even breathe, he can’t- He gears himself up to scream, to maybe,  _ maybe _ , get Phil or Techno's attention. Yes, yes, he needs Phil and Techno. It's a long shot, but Tommy sees the pink particles that are trailing Dream, he knows the bastard is probably loaded with potions. It's his only chance. He opens his mouth to scream, but before anything can escape, Dream's on him, slamming him back into the barn wall. 

"Shhhhh, listen to me, okay? There's something you need to understand, Tommy. Something I came all the way out here to  _ remind  _ you of." 

Dream grabs a fistful of his shirt and yanks him forward.

"You're  _ mine.  _ You're  _ my  _ pawn in this game. And honestly, I don't  _ care _ if you run away to Technoblade, or Philza, or whoever the fuck else, because in the end, you will answer to  _ me _ . It's only a matter of time."

Tommy shoves back at him as hard as he can, which of course has no real effect on moving him, but Dream backs away willingly when he feels it.

“It’s only a matter of time until I get what I want! Oooh, and Technoblade, y'know, he could have had it good too, been my ally even, if only he hadn’t  _ lied _ to me. But now! Now he's just like everyone else! It’s  _ almost  _ a shame.” Dream continues.

“I- th- the fuck’s wrong with you?!” Tommy stammers, getting increasingly unsettled. Dream was… wrong, he was reminding him too much of Wilbur, how he was towards the end, preaching nonsense with that same look in his eyes.

“He didn't have to get on my bad side, Tommy, but he did. That’s his choice, though.”

“Dream-”

He steps forward again to reach a gentle hand on Tommy’s face, and smiles at him oh, so fondly. The touch makes him feel sick, but he also can’t bring himself to cringe away from it. 

“Oh, but don’t  _ you  _ worry about that, Tommy. You don’t  _ have  _ a choice.”

"I- what? " Tommy says. This wasn't making sense, Dream wasn't making sense, but he was having trouble telling if it was actually him or if Tommy's head was still fuzzy.  _ Fucking hell-  _ he  _ hates  _ it when Dream does this. Dream pulls him in for a hug, and Tommy's head starts to hurt horribly, and he's struck with the urge to return it? Wait, but he was mad, right? Mad, and wanted Dream to leave. But… it felt like Dream was comforting him? Dream was being nice to him right now, wasn’t he? Except- oh, his nose was bleeding. What had he done to earn that again? Tommy opts to stay still, not rejecting or leaning into it. Dream runs his fingers calmingly through his hair, and all but  _ purrs _ ,

“No... you’re mine. All mine. And you don’t get to make decisions like that, decisions to  _ betray  _ me. I control you, don’t I? Don't I?" He asks, voice  _ breaking  _ at the end. The fuck? Why would it do that? Dream was never unsure, never.

He… he doesn’t think that it's true, either, that Dream was the one controlling him n shit, but voicing it seemed like a bad idea.  _ Fuck _ \- no, wait, he needs to try and remember what he was doing, and fast. If he didn’t, Dream would fill his head with a bunch of shit that was confusing, or he’d hurt him, or… or- but why would Dream do that? He was his friend, right?  _ Fuck! N _ o, focus. He thinks back, he thinks he came in here for… 

_ Eggs _

Eggs for Phil’s omelettes! Phil, who killed Dream weeks ago, mark still faintly visible on his neck. Phil, who hated Dream. Because Dream was bad, and had hurt him. 

The sudden burst of clarity fills him, and he twists his way out of Dream's grip, disgusted.

"FUCK YOU! I- NO!  _ NEVER!”  _ he screams.

“What did you just say?” 

“I- if you think- if you think I’m  _ ever  _ going to listen to- to  _ your  _ bitch ass again-!"

Dream frowns at him, like an adult disappointed in a tantruming child, and says,

"Oh, Tommy. Again with this?" 

Then he blurs in motion too fast for him to see, something connects, and the worst pain Tommy has ever felt in his life explodes on his left side. For a period of time that could have been seconds, could have been hours, Tommy is not aware of anything else.

And then, impossibly, it gets worse. Because when he takes in air to breathe, the pain  _ doubles _ , subsides for a second, and then as soon as he exhales in a twisted scream, it doubles again. He can't- he can't do this. He wants to stop breathing, if only to dull the agony, but he's not in control of his lungs, he already feels the hyperventilation starting.

When he begins to register what he was seeing, even though his vision was swimming with tears, he sees blurs of green again. He hears words he doesn't 100% comprehend.

"Awwww, hear that? Daddy's coming, Tommy, that's my que to go. But I'll be seeing you again. Soon."

Green is replaced with pink, but again, Tommy can't care. He very quickly succumbs to black.

\----------------  
  


It had only just occurred to Technoblade that Tommy was taking a long time, when he heard the scream. Techno had only heard a scream like it once before, and it was equally haunting. 

The days following Dream's visit, it was not uncommon for Tommy to wake up with a cry that alerts them both, his grey-blue eyes staring, but not  _ seeing  _ the room in front of him. They drape blankets over his shaking form, put water bottles in his hands for him to sip waiting for the nightmare to fade, but dare not touch him. They found that out the first night it happened, Phil instinctually pulling Tommy in for a hug, causing a heart-breaking scream of terror, Tommy not recognising the people in the room with him. 

Techno hears the scream again that morning, but it's  _ wrong _ , something else twisting it into what it was. He's up and out of the house before he even knew he made the decision. 

He makes it to the barn, and sees the fading particles of an ender pearl. Body acting totally on instinct, he reaches for a pearl of his own, and his hand is already wound back when it materialises in his hand-

Phil brushes past him, medical supplies in hand, and it breaks his concentration on the hunt. _Shit_ , what was he _doing?_ _Tommy. Tommy might be hurt. Focus on Tommy,_ he tells himself. It takes, admittedly, a while for his adrenaline to fade, for his instincts and his stupid _chat_ to stop screaming at him to _go, hunt, kill._ When he feels himself becoming decently aware, he sheathes his weapons and sits next to Phil. 

From the shimmer of magic on Tommy's skin, he assumes Phil’s already gotten some splash potions on him. That's good, but Tommy is still unconscious, something he can't really tell if good or bad. He's covered in blood. This doesn't phase Techno as much as it might've phased someone else, he was very used to blood. And he also happened to know that wounds often looked a lot worse than they were, and he didn't even see any cuts on Tommy. It's possible that this all came from a nosebleed, considering the amount of blood on his face. Techno reaches into Phil's first aid kit and grabs something to wipe his face off.  _ There _ , he thinks,  _ don't say I never did nothin' for you, kid. _

“We’ve got to move him." Phil says, and Techno nods. He helps Phil move him, and they get him back into the house as quickly as possible.

They lay him down, and Phil is again laser focused. He mutters as he works.

"...kay, not concussed then, fuck did all this blood- oh, shit, nose. can set it while he's sleep-"

He does, and Techno flinches in sympathy. He's definitely felt that pain before, but unfortunately didn't have the luxury of being asleep for it. Still, it'll smart when he wakes.

"I have to check him, he can't tell us what's wrong right now, oh, man, this shirt's ruined. poor kid, he likes this shirt… maybe I can make him a…"

While speaking, Phil had been checking his arms for anything out of the ordinary, when he moved Tommy's shirt barely up to his ribs, but they were both shocked to silence. 

Technoblade has scars, numerous and many, littering his body. He is a warrior, a hunter, they were as natural on his body as his pink hair, or his red eyes. 

Philza has scars. The exact quantity Techno did not know, but he was present for the formation of many of them, and responsible for the deaths of the people who gave him them much of that time. Phil was a warrior too. Perhaps not of the same caliber as Techno, but a warrior nonetheless. Scars were a part of him as well.

Tommy was not a warrior. He thought himself one, and perhaps someone had tried to make him one once, but he was not. The scars that littered Tommy were not that of battle, they looked like something someone had done deliberately. 

When Phil found the broken ribs, Techno didn't hear it. When Phil cried out for him to stop, Techno, don't leave, he didn't hear it. He heard his chat, in tune once again with the hunter, urging him forward, forward. He didn't fight it this time, neither of them, he let go of his own thinking, and allowed the hunter to guide him into the blizzard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends!! RL has been kicking my ass but I'm very happy to get this out to you!
> 
> angst go brrrr, amirite? any truers?


End file.
